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Right of Association (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 11) - Finland (RATIFICATION: 1923)

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The Committee takes note of the observations of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), transmitted with the Government’s reports on the application of this Convention and the Rural Workers’ Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141). The Committee notes, in particular, the SAK’s indication that rural workers who conclude “independent contractor agreements” with their employers lack any right to collective bargaining and that this practice has notably enabled the exploitation of berry pickers to flourish for years in Finland. The Committee notes of the Government’s indication that the on-going criminal investigations on the exploitation of berry pickers in Finland do not pertain to a violation of these worker’s right to organize.

The Committee recalls that the Convention applies to all those engaged in agriculture, including seasonal and independent workers (see the Committee’s 2015 General Survey, Giving a voice to rural workers, paragraphs 60–66). Moreover, the Committee considers that the right to bargain effectively stems from the right to exercise the principle of freedom of association, as enshrined in the Convention. Furthermore, in previous comments on the application of the Convention, the Committee stressed that negotiations through organizations of workers with a view to establishing their remuneration and wage rates should be promoted, so that those engaged in agriculture benefit from the same rights of association and combination as industrial workers. The Committee considers that, in the rural context, it is particularly important that measures are taken to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiations between employers and employers’ organizations and workers’ organizations (see the Committee’s 2015 General Survey, Giving a voice to rural workers, paragraph 154). The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the SAK’s observations as well as information on measures taken or contemplated to enable self-employed and seasonal rural workers to enjoy the effective and full exercise of the rights of association, including the right to bargain collectively.